


Zero Credit Legacy

by honeypothux



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Angst, M/M, Pre-Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-10
Updated: 2016-07-10
Packaged: 2018-07-22 17:02:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7446976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/honeypothux/pseuds/honeypothux
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>General Hux was a bastard, a man without a story. Kylo Ren was the descendant of legends, the champion of glorious history. Peace between them was never an option. </p><p>Or; how Hux learned to hate Kylo Ren.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Zero Credit Legacy

**Author's Note:**

> I want to clarify at the beginning of this fic that the view of Kylo's life Hux presents is not one that is consistent with what canon implies. I do not think Kylo had a thousand chances and choices. I think he was a victim of child grooming and invasive probing of his mind. Hux, however, does not have access to the same information as you and I. His view is colored by that.
> 
> With that out of the way, this is a fic I wanted to write in the aftermath of the "Armitage" name realization and accompanying information. 
> 
> Also, this is my first publicly posted fic since I wrote Death Note slash as a preteen. How time flies, huh?

Ren and Hux were at it again. Their voices carried across the Finalizer, cacophonous and loud as an orchestra coming to an ugly halt. Troopers stalked the halls outside the bridge, set to ease by the shouting. They were trained to seek standard operating conditions and, upon the Finalizer, there was nothing more standard than fighting between General Hux and Kylo Ren.

The reasons never really mattered. The two of them went to war over every little thing, standing ground on territory worth nothing at all. This particular fight stemmed from a debate over Hux’s command, but that didn’t matter, just as it never did. What mattered was that Kylo, after years of conflict, felt something give in his chest. He watched the General’s mouth, the gnashing of clenched teeth, and exhaled a long-held sigh. Hux fell silent in response, staring up at Kylo. He waited and, when nothing came, his furrowed brows fell flat. “Well,” Hux said, folding his hands at his back, “What is it, Ren?”

The next words Kylo spoke came out too heavy for the vocoder. It crackled and popped, leaving the low growl of Kylo’s voice near unintelligible. But Hux heard him and, immediately, wished he had not.

“Why do you hate me?”                                                      

Hux inhaled, every muscle in his body pulling in opposite directions. “I have no idea what you mean,” he said, holding posture like nothing had happened. Kylo stared back at him and Hux was forced to study his own reflection in Kylo’s visor, his heart thrumming against his chest. Vice Admiral Resdox liked to joke that Hux grew more insane every time he saw himself there, on Ren. “Nothing ruins a man like seeing himself in someone else,” Resdox said, spared only by his rank and good work ethic.

Resdox was wrong, of course. As far as Hux was concerned, his reflection was the only bit of himself he ever saw in Kylo. But, looking at Kylo now, Hux considered the possibility Resdox was correct about the madness, if not its cause. Despite his better judgement, Hux began to suspect that the world around Kylo was shifting, changing. It was the same sensation he’d felt when the Starkiller project was placed in his hands.

It was the certainty that this moment, for whatever reason, mattered.

Kylo reached up, releasing his helmet. A high-pitched hiss filled the room and Hux averted his eyes. No matter how many times he saw Kylo’s face, it was always too much. He’d scorched entire civilizations and conquered half the galaxy, but found himself unseated by the big, sad eyes of a man he despised. “Is that really necessary, Ren?” he said, staring straight out through a view port and into the vacuum of space.

“You seem to forget that you cannot hide your feelings from me, General,” Kylo said, voice a thousand times softer than it had been moments before. The sound washed over Hux and made him bristle. It reminded him of what Kylo Ren really was – a pretender to great things, a fool grasping at names he did not deserve.

Hux snapped his attention toward Kylo, the furrow back in his brow. He stepped forward, pressing into Kylo’s personal space. It was Kylo’s preferred tactic in the helmet but, without it, Hux gained the advantage. It was Kylo, not Hux, who averted his eyes this time.

“If you can read my feelings, then certainly you can read my justifications,” Hux growled. He clenched his fists, hands shaking at his sides. “But, if your Force fails you there, allow me to restate what I have already made clear. You walk this ship without an ounce of respect for her or her men. You are destructive, impulsive, negligent, and—“

“So, you admit to hating me,” Kylo said, trampling Hux’s impending speech. His face betrayed no feeling, though his eyes forced Hux to take pause before responding.

“I’ve said no such thing, Ren.”

“You hate me because I do not offer you, your ship, or your men the respect you think you deserve.”

Hux scoffed, falling away from Ren and turning his back on him. He marched across the bridge, coming to lean up against the central control panel. Hux hung his head and smiled, unable to keep himself from laughing. Footsteps followed behind him and he clamped his eyes shut, hiding face in the palm of one hand. Kylo’s shadow cast over the panel, looming over Hux.

“See, there is your problem, Ren,” he said, closing his eyes. “I couldn’t care less about your respect for me. I don’t need the praise of a charlatan. But that you imagine I am beyond anyone’s respect is unforgivable.” He rose, staring out into space once again. The galaxy spread out before him, ripe for the taking. “I have worked so hard for everything I have. I have accomplished more in ten years than Grand Moff Tarkin achieved in a lifetime. And yet…”

Hux turned to face Kylo, finding him much closer than he’d anticipated. Again, they were nose to nose, eyes boring into each other’s in a search for weakness and opportunity. Hux held Kylo’s gaze despite his reservations. This was too important.

“You, a man handed every opportunity, have the gall to tell me I’m below respecting. You, who had a million, brilliant choices from the moment you were born, feel justified in treating me as if I’ve never done anything,” Hux said, jabbing one finger against Kylo’s chest. He trembled with rage and something unknown, following Kylo’s eyes even as Kylo tried to look away. “You have everything I’ve ever wanted and you paid nothing for it.”

Kylo looked back to Hux, sad eyes devoid of light. He stepped forward, forcing Hux back and pinning him against the controls. “And why do you believe that, General?” he asked, the monotone of his voice cracking under the weight of their exchange.

Even with Kylo boring down over him, Hux could only smile. “You don’t know a single thing about me, do you?” he said, reaching back to support himself against the controls. The Finalizer hummed against his fingers, the whir of its engine spurring him on. Deep down, he knew this was foolish. He stood to gain nothing from spilling his guts. If anything, he’d sour relationships and give Kylo valuable tools for their next debate. But Kylo’s expressionless face, so disaffected by everything, ignited a flame he could not ignore. He would be heard, consequences be damned.

“You could have been anything, Ren,” Hux said, watching as Kylo’s brows knit together. “You could have been a Solo or a Skywalker or an Amidala or Vader’s champion. By the merit of your birth, the galaxy greeted you with open arms. You have a story, a lineage, a place to belong.”

Kylo narrowed his eyes and turned away, cloak falling from his shoulders in the commotion. Hux stepped forward and gathered the cloak in his hands. Kylo stared at the door. Leaving would spare him the trouble of having Hux explain his ravings. But, it would also ensure Kylo sat up the rest of the week trying to work them out himself. He turned back, hands closed in fists, and spoke. “Is there a point to all this, General? I don’t see how any of this concerns you.”

Hux raised his brows, . “You don’t see how this concerns me?” He wrinkled his nose, a sneer taking the place of his smile. He’d always known Kylo was  “Fine, so be it. I’ll spell it out for you. I’m a bastard, Ren. You knew as much. I’m an illegitimate mistake.”

Kylo turned his head to one side. “I still don’t see how that’s releva—“

Hux interrupted Kylo this time. He’d get his point across even if meant shouting over Kylo for the rest of their lives. “You had a dozen names and histories to choose from and I had nothing!” Hux shouted, voice reverberating through the bridge. “Even now, I wear the name Hux with my father’s disapproval. I have never been welcome to my own name. I do not receive the benefits of legacy, as you do. I don’t have a history. I don’t have a right to my lineage. I am stranded, have always been stranded, and will always be stranded.” He paused, exhaling. “Alone.”

Kylo stood, silent. Hux panted across the room, gulping down breaths. His emotions moved in the Force like thrashing tendrils. They licked against his mind, leaving traces of burning fire where they touched. Kylo looked back to the door but, before he could move, Hux spoke again. He closed the space between them, forcing eye contact once more.

“I want you to think about the Supreme Leader, for a moment,” he said, voice gravely quiet. “He looks to me every day and sees a replaceable part. But you? You are Vader’s grandson. You are a precious miracle for no reason other than your family legacy. I have given everything to the Order and, still, I am nothing compared to you. I have given everything to the Order and I am still nothing to him.”

“Him?” Kylo repeated, quirking a brow. “Are we still talking about the Supreme Leader, General?”

Hux flinched and lashed outward, grabbing Kylo by the arm. He squared his shoulders and stared upward, unwilling to back down with all his pride and shame laid out on the table. After all, he’d already been caught in a sentimental cry for his father’s attention. He had nothing left to lose.

“Tell me why you must be the one to finish what Vader stated,” Hux commanded, fingers pressing into Kylo’s arm. “Why is that your destiny? Why do you get to be so much more than the rest of us?”

Kylo pulled himself free of Hux, brows wrinkled in the center. “I’m not just his grandson. I am tied to him in the Force.”

“No, you are tied to him by blood and history. The Force has no hand in this,” Hux said, watching as Kylo moved towards the door. He thought to go after him, but the sense of importance had passed. He’d thrown a fit and made a fool of himself, nothing more. As Kylo moved to put his helmet back on, Hux called out, “Ren!”

Kylo stopped and looked back, helmet still in his hands.

“I hate you,” Hux said, straight-faced.

A half-smile crept its way onto Kylo’s face. It wasn’t the answer he wanted, but it was good to be right, in the end. “I know, General.”

Hux sighed and shook his head, resigned. “No, you don’t understand, Ren - I hate you.”

Kylo stared at Hux for a long while, weighing his options in the silence. Outside, the troopers worried amongst themselves.. With only so little time before one stopped in to check on them, Kylo sighed and resigned himself to a foolish decision. “I can’t agree with you, General.There is an error in your logic” he said, closing his eyes. Kylo pulled his helmet over his head, the click and hiss masking the shuffle of his feet as he turned toward the door and away from Hux. Only moments from freedom, he decided to speak one last time.

“Have you considered that your father’s legacy might have been a stain on your accomplishments? Perhaps it is best you lack history.  Nothing can tarnish what you’ve achieved, General.”

Kylo’s words hit Hux like blaster fire and he tensed, turning his face to the floor. As Kylo put his hand to the panel door, Hux called to him again. “Ren, wait.”

Kylo froze again, breath hissing through his mask. “Can I help you, General?” he asked, tone concealed by his vocoder.

Hux considered turning him away with an insult. It would certainly be easier than anything else. But a single question ruled his mind and he’d not rest until he had the answer. “Why do you hate me, then? Is it because I constrain you?”

Something crackled through Kylo’s helmet. If he weren’t so clever, Hux might have called it a laugh. “That’s simple, General,” he said, opening the door. “I don’t.”

Kylo walked out the door and vanished down the hall. Hux stared after him, ignoring the Troopers that turned his way. As silence turned to the song of the Finalizer’s engines, he looked down into his hands. The ghost of a smile appeared on Hux’s face

“Kriffing idiot left his cloak.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I really appreciate it. 
> 
> To be honest, I'm a lot happier with the title of this piece than the work itself. Zero credit refers to both Kylo (in the sense of credits the currency; he's spent nothing to gain access to legacy) and Hux (who receives zero credit in the construction of the family legacy). 
> 
> Also, shout-out to my dearest friend Candy for being my beta.


End file.
